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Not Whining just Wonder?

To All

Has or do Folks feel other forms of communication is slowly replacing Forums. With Face Book etc. being just one. The tone of this Forum has gotten a lot better with the Mods doing a fine job. Example after the last National, I saw little posted in regard to After Action Reports. I know with the NSA looking at everything some Folks may not feel comfortable posting anything. We as a Hobby are look on by some to be on the edge. It seems at times this outlet has gotten to be little more than a clearing house for Old and New Gear.
Like the Hobby itself, there are those myself included that will always be involved. Too many years and to much money invested to give up on it.

I don't think that facebook or other social media are really replacing hobbyist forums, because they are not well suited to the task. They have poor text editors, and are generally cumbersome for the kinds of things that forums are good at.

I do think that there is a shift in the internet to where it is becoming more common to consume content rather than to create it. And the devices that people are now using to access the internet, namely phones and tablets, lend themselves far, far, far more to consumption than generation of content. You really don't want to type much on a phone or a tablet.

No, I love using my thumbnails to type! Really!
Traffic has been a bit slow recently. It's the end of the season, and there's often a little breather before grumpy season starts again. After all, we've been doing our hobby for months, and now other things - like school, football season, the world series, etc take center stage for a little while.
I think we're starting to see the big sell off that's been predicted for years. People who are done now that Gettysburg is over are liquidating, as well as the first wave of sales of people who will be done in 2015. Great if you're trying to sell stuff. A little dull if you'd like to talk about reenacting.

Rob Weaver
Pine River Boys, Co I, 7th Wisconsin
"We're... Christians, what read the Bible and foller what it says about lovin' your enemies and carin' for them what despitefully use you -- that is, after you've downed 'em good and hard."
-Si Klegg and His Pard Shorty

There are certainly those who look askance at our “hobby” but those outside the Civil War community (and many that are in it) mostly see us as hokey, stupid and “racist” (depending on uniform color) rather than armed and dangerous and on the brink of civil war (no pun intended).

While some paranoiacs may avoid posting on the internet now due to concerns about government monitoring, they are being overly concerned. The NSA is looking for key words that link with other key words that when put together spell “trouble”. So, when “black powder” links up with “my Richmond Depot Type II jacket” and obscure rants about “us farbs vs. them hardkewls” it doesn’t really set off any major alarm bells.

Ahhhhh, yes. And here we go again.... MORE on the “great sell-off” and the imminent “demise of the hobby”, versus a the perceived “uptick”. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Who are all the young people I saw in the ranks at Cedar Creek this past weekend? It’s like the fallacy of the “Fall of the Roman Empire”. It didn’t really fall, but took in a new religion and changed, splitting into two major factions; Roman (West) and Byzantine (East). The hobby’s is morphing, yes. I look forward to it being a leaner, smaller and perhaps even more "user friendly" in the future.

- Ernesto Serna

"...I'm struck by the contradiction at the core of Civil War reenacting. On the surface it's a hyper-macho hobby, focused on guns and battle. But the longer I hang out with hardcores ... the more they remind me of supermodels, chatting endlessly about their jackets and shoes and hair and how many pounds they've lost since the last event." - Tony Horwitz

Uh, gee, now that ya mention it, neither the imminent demise of reenacting, nor the NSA crossed my mind. I just noticed a lot more traffic sellin stuff than discussin stuff.

Rob Weaver
Pine River Boys, Co I, 7th Wisconsin
"We're... Christians, what read the Bible and foller what it says about lovin' your enemies and carin' for them what despitefully use you -- that is, after you've downed 'em good and hard."
-Si Klegg and His Pard Shorty

Uh, yes, the kind of stuff I'm selling is the stuff I have, like, a dozen of.

Except blankets, you just can't have too many blankets.......

I sold 8 spinning wheels two years ago. That didn't mean I quit spinning. It meant I could focus on my craft. And this year I placed in a national competition. I hope this 'downsize' means we are focusing our impressions.

IMHO, the forums have their unique purpose and value that you normally cant find on the other forms of social networking....

Having been in the hobby for well over three decades, it has been an interesting observation upon the evolution of the hobby. Things shift with the tide, fads, reenactor habits lean one way then the other.... material interests and availability of new stuff repeatedly repainting the canvas (no pun intended) and what hits as popular at the time. Also observing patterns of high and lows that tend to reflect during anniversary cycles. Recalling back in the 125th cycle, very similar thoughts and predictions expressed upon the expected huge massive vaccum at its conclusion. Yeah some folks retired, lessening the ranks, but lots of new folks that discovered interest in the hobby during the cycle replaced more than what was lost. It actually seemed to be bigger afterwards than less. The predicted great post-125th demise didnt happen....

Granted the state of the economy now appears to thward the level of growth numbers. It might not have the replacement numbers as did the 125th... But having seen the usual patterns of fluxuations in the hobby for a number of anniversary cycles. It might be slightly leaner than before, but dont think it will be anything close to the doomsday final chapter end all of the hobby that some seem to be predicting. Like others... Been doing it and absorbed into it so long dont know how to stop... I'll still be at as long as I'm physically able... Just an observation and opinion...

Intersting question Doug, as I and a few others were discussing this very question not too long ago. My two cents is this:
Every forum has it own purpose. Many suggest that this is a great place for the beginner. The AC is the place to go for the more authentic minded who take their impression and efforts a step futher. You've got the Common Ground which is geared to both the beginner and the more authentic (which Szabos here has focused more on this over the past few years). You've the OTB that is, well...., a horse of a different color that requires one to have thick skin and not take everything with a grain of salt. Then you have the group/unit/mess forums that are not geared for everyone, but for those affiliated with that said group and that said group only.
For instance, the WFB has their own Forum. It is open to anyone, but the topics discussed there are 100% for WFB members and supporters, where we discuss upcoming events and/or to provide links to sources to help them with their efforts. Things discussed there I do not need to bring up here or on another forum, for the most part, becuase it does not serve those other forum any purpose what so ever.
Facebook has offered a few alternatives, but I do not see where it has effected the forums any. Now, there are some who would rather see stuff posted on facebook, just because they are burned out of the forums and/or seeing the same ol' horse beat over and over again on the forums.
I dont' see these forums going away anytime soon. Too much valuable information!

Uh, yes, the kind of stuff I'm selling is the stuff I have, like, a dozen of.

Except blankets, you just can't have too many blankets.......

I sold 8 spinning wheels two years ago. That didn't mean I quit spinning. It meant I could focus on my craft. And this year I placed in a national competition. I hope this 'downsize' means we are focusing our impressions.

Amen. Or two dozen of...I could actually diverst myself of at least one musket if I had to. Right with the blankets as well. How can one have too many blankets?